Pakistan and China have reiterated their abiding commitment to the high-quality development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.
This came at the fourth round of Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad on Saturday, which was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
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Later, speaking at a joint press stakeout along with his Chinese counterpart, the foreign minister pointed out that this year marked the completion of a decade of CPEC, which has accelerated socio-economic development, employment opportunities and improvement in people’s livelihoods in Pakistan.
He said the corridor project remained a win-win economic initiative open to all investors around the world.
He said Pakistan remains profoundly grateful to China for its generous and timely assistance as it continues to grapple with the headwinds in the global economy.
Bilawal said Pakistan and China have always supported each other on issues of core national interests in both bilateral engagements and at multilateral forums.
“We appreciate China’s steadfast support on all our issues, including our principled position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”
The FM said the partnership between the two countries has grown over the years and enjoys consensus across generations and political divide.
“We have had an in-depth exchange of views on the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation. We agreed to the significance of this partnership for the mutual benefit of our two nations in the face of new developments.”
He further said both countries stood with each other for decades and will continue to stand with each other in the decades to come.
He also said Pakistan will continue to firmly support China on all core issues of its national interests.
Bilawal also stressed that the Pakistan-China friendship was irreversible.
“The mutual warmth and trust between the peoples of the two countries is a shining example of multicultural cooperation. This friendship is a historic reality and consensus choice of two nations.”
The minister emphatically stated that Pakistan is against bloc politics or greater power competition of any kind. Pakistan looked forward to working together with all countries to address common challenges of development and connectivity, he added.
